ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man, who used a drug rehabilitation program in the Roanoke City jail to obtain sex partners in exchange for drugs, pled guilty yesterday to federal drug distribution, witness tampering, and health care fraud charges, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick, Jr., announced.

Gordon Reaves Parker, 71, of Roanoke, Virginia, waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty yesterday to an Information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of tampering with a witness and one count of health care fraud.

“This defendant used a program designed to help those with horrible drug addictions for his own perverse sexual advances,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “These victims, who were incarcerated, entered a rehabilitation program hoping to beat their addiction and better their lives. Upon release, they were fed drugs and taken advantage of by an entitled individual who believed the rules didn’t apply to him. As today’s conviction clearly shows, the rules apply to everyone equally.”

“These heinous acts committed by a soulless predator are the epitome of why law enforcement professionals do what we do: to protect the rights of everyday people,” DEA Washington Field Division Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Karl C. Colder said today. Innocents who are suffering from the ravages of addiction and do not have a voice of their own. Opioid addiction and overdose deaths have become the single greatest danger to the lives and health of our citizens. DEA’s resolve to confront this epidemic and the criminals, like Mr. Parker, who supply it is unwavering. We will hold accountable those who poison communities and destroy lives. The DEA would like to thank the United States Attorney's Office of the Western District of Virginia and the Virginia State Police in our concerted effort to identify and bring this evil and reckless person to justice.”

According to evidence presented at yesterday’s guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Jennie L. M. Waering, Parker discovered the Alpha drug rehabilitation program in the Roanoke County Jail as a mechanism for obtaining sex partners in exchange for drugs. Parker initially met victim HW, then 28, when she was residing at the Roanoke Rescue Mission. Parker offered HW drugs in exchange for sex. HW was subsequently arrested and placed in the Roanoke City Jail in the Alpha drug intervention program. Parker kept in touch with HW by phone and put significant amounts of money in HW’s jail account.

Parker admitted yesterday to asking HW to introduce him to other young, good looking, Alpha drug program inmates who might be released from jail before HW. HW introduced Parker to JM, age 20 at the time. JM, in turn, introduced Parker to BH, age 25 at the time. JM and BH talked to Parker extensively on the telephone from jail. Parker put large amounts of money on the jail accounts of JM and BH. JM and BH subsequently introduced Parker to several other Alpha drug program inmates.

Evidence presented yesterday showed that Parker eventually made contact with at least ten women, between the ages of 18-27, many of whom he met while they were in jail in the Alpha drug program. Parker talked extensively to many of the women on the phone in conversations recorded by the jail and put money on their jail accounts. Parker promised these young women a variety of monetary gifts and promised to pay fines, child support and other expenses. Parker discussed sexual activities with them on the phone, describing what they would do together when they were released. When the women were released from jail, these women visited him at his Wipledale Avenue home and at his Rockbridge Court home, where he offered the women drugs (hydromorphone, oxycodone, morphine, oxymorphone, hydrocodone and heroin) and large monetary gifts in exchange for sex. This activity was repeated with more than ten drug addicted or recovering women and the drugs given to the women were obtained from prescriptions written for his disabled wife by a pain management physician.

In addition, Parker admitted yesterday that he asked a medical technician that cared for his wife and was in charge of distributing her pain medication, to lie to the federal grand jury to account for his use of the stockpiled controlled substances that were prescribed to his wife.

The investigation of the case was initiated by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and jointly conducted with the Tactical Diversion Squad of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennie L. M. Waering and Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case for the United States.